Awaking from Reality
by TenkuuBatsu
Summary: Fragmented dreams of an illusory world. Hallucinations of a nightmare come true. Sasuke had always wanted somebody to satiate his unexplainable restlessness. Maybe this time around, his wish might be granted. Genfic.
1. Tenkousei

**Title:** Awaking from a Dream

**Summary:** Sasuke had always felt that he was living in a life that was not his own. That his reality was not one shared by the rest of his classmates. Until Uzumaki Naruto re-entered his life and shattered his insecurities one by one. A different kind of high school story.

**Pairings:** None for the time being. This is probably going to be a genfic.

Chapter 1- _Tenkousei_

* * *

"Ittekimasu." Sasuke drawled monotonously.

"Itterasshai." The expected reply followed immediately.

Sasuke didn't deign to offer a smile goodbye, nor even a curt nod of acknowledgment. Why should he even bother? It was a repetitive routine. A daily occurrence. A sign that a dreary day laid ahead of him. A day that would leave him infuriated with his insipid life.

Sliding shut the well-oiled wooden door behind him with a snap, Sasuke winced slightly as bright sunlight immediately blinded his view for a few moments. Not even giving his eyes anytime to adjust to the change, he started trudging out of the house's gate, and towards the general direction of his school. It had only been a year, but his feet had already committed the path to memory.

His house wasn't in the outskirts of this little town, but it wasn't exactly very close to the school, nor to the shopping districts either. Bracing himself for a long walk to school, Sasuke took his headphones out from his school bag and put them on, deftly untangling the knotted wires, and browsed through his mobile phone for the playlist he wanted. The music playing into his ears were the only change in his daily walk to school. The roads he walked through were a daily fixture.

The neglected shrine at the end of the road. The _Shidareyanagi _waving its leaves gently to the wind. The abandoned cardboard boxes that were now the new home of a litter of stray kittens. Everything had remained the way it had been as it was the day before, weeks before, months before. Changes were minute and bored no impression. Sasuke wanted more. He wanted more meaning in his life. He wanted to make an impact in this dry, uninteresting world.

Before he knew it, he was well out of his neighborhood district and was already walking through his school gates. Spring was still around the corner, and the Sakura trees in the yard were still in bloom, its petals scattered all over the ground, blanketing it a soft pale pink. Already, he could feel numerous pairs of eyes landing on his person. If he took off his headphones, he would probably hear murmurs and whispers with himself being the main topic of interest.

Uchiha Sasuke. Prodigy son of the famed Uchiha Company. Top Student of the level for two years and running. Star player of the track team. Ace. Genius. Talented. Gifted. Natural. _Tensai_.

It had all led down to one meaning- _freak_. The girls swooned and gushed over his intellect and looks, but none of them ever ventured out to hold a proper five minute conversation with him. The boys scorned at his arrogance and skills, and shunned him aside from themselves. He was alone. He had always been alone, ever since he entered junior high school. Everyone looked and gossiped, as though he was an interesting exhibit, but no one had reached out for him.

Quickly swapping his sneakers for his indoor shoes, he trudged up to the third floor; bag swung nonchalantly over one shoulder, his usual deep frown fixed upon his face. 2-A. Sliding the back door open, Sasuke headed towards his usual seat- the last column from the left, and the last row from the front, with the window to the side. He liked seating near windows the most- the gentle breeze was refreshing, but the occasional downpour was a nuisance to handle.

Several of his classmates were already present in the classroom. Hyuuga Hinata, who sat a row and two seats away from him, met his roaming gaze with her pale, almost white pupils, but glanced away almost too swiftly, fidgeting nervously with her pens and markers. Nara Shikamaru lay, as per usual, slumped over his desk, which was located at the other end of the classroom. In front of him sat his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, he was snacking on a bag of barbecued flavored chips despite the fact that it wasn't lunch hour and that the homeroom teacher might be coming in any minute.

Those three were the only ones who paid him no heed- they didn't adore him, nor do they dislike him. But then again, they didn't make any moves to befriend him either. Sometimes, he would catch a curious stare of two from them, and they would avert their eyes quickly and carried on with whatever they were doing. So he ignored them as well. The Hyuugas were a company on par with the Uchiha- as much as his father tried to deny this fact- and it would not do him any good to be caught with their heir.

Wait. Sasuke paused and looked at the wall clock. Eight twenty-four. Okay, so maybe their teacher may not be coming in so soon yet. Having nothing to do till class starts, Sasuke dug out his notebook, textbook and pencil bag from his bag and arranged them neatly over his desk. Then he slung the half-empty bag over the hook at the side of the desk, not before dumping his headset into a side pocket. The electronic speakers chimed, a repetitive ring, and the rest of the class filled into the room in hordes and droves, their chatter inconsistent and garbled.

It took awhile for the class to get settled. Boys were discussing the latest video games that had just been released over the weekends. Girls were giggling over the tickets they had obtained for a pop idol's concert. A group of jocks were hyped out about the baseball match that was going to take place in the afternoon. Some cheerleaders were nervously skirting around him, phones clutched in their hands, whose nails were highly manicured and polished. Lastly, boys and girls alike were scattered loosely around the room, all furiously copying homework- obtained from friends- which they hadn't finish the night before, due to varied reasons. Five minutes passed. Then ten.

"Sasuke-kun!"

An extremely high-pitched and offending girly voice. Sasuke didn't feel like turning his head, but he did so anyway, out of politeness's sake. It was the leader of the gaggle of cheerleaders. _Sakura_. Sasuke don't usually remember the names of his fan girls, but this one was practically impossible for him not to. Firstly, she had hair the color of her namesake. Secondly, she was the president of his unofficial fan club. Lastly, she had managed to beat him by two points in a history test six months and five days ago. Once. Sasuke's father had never let him live that embarrassing defeat down, and Sasuke himself, having never felt so humiliated before, gave that girl his coldest glares for almost two months. Until he emerged top-scorer for the mid-year examinations.

Wishing that she could just take the hint and disappear with her cluster of bimbos- who had to be quite smart to be able to get into 2_A_- Sasuke fixed her his blankest stare. "What?"

"If you don't mind, would you… err… would you…" Sakura paused and fidgeted with the helm of her too short and obviously tailored skirt. Sasuke continued staring at her blankly, silently willing for her to get her words out before he could send her away with a rejection. It wasn't her first, and from the looks of it, it wasn't going to be her last either.

"Well, we were wondering if you would… eh… you see, there's this competition going on, and I, uh…" Aww, to hell with politeness. Sasuke was just about to open his mouth to reject her offer- whatever it was, be it a date invitation or a love proposal. But the vice president took the reins and cut in for her friend-rival.

"There's a photo competition going on in the newspapers, so we would really love to get a few shots of you if you allow us to, Sasuke-kun." Yamanaka Ino gushed out breathlessly. " I mean, you don't even have to dress-up or anything, just sit still over there and we'll just snap some shots really quick, you look good regardless, and I bet you might even win this thing-"

"I'm sorry Yamanaka-san, but I'm a little busy with my work here." A blatant lie, but Sasuke said it out with a straight face. His notebooks lay closed and untouched on his desk, and his pencil bag was still tightly zipped. "Another time maybe." That was yet another lie, if anything; it was just to make them go away.

"Aww, but Sasuke-kun… Just one quick snap, please?" Ino whined, waving her phone camera in front of his face. Sasuke had the sudden urge to lunge for it and snap it into two, but it was an unrefined action, so he held it in. Ino's pleading got the other girls into whining and begging along with her, and soon they were making a small commotion as each one of them waved their phones at him. Sasuke felt himself internally melting at the attention they were causing.

'_Kami-sama, if you won't make them disappear, why don't you make _me_ disappear instead?'_ He thought broodingly. _'At least I won't be as bored as I am now when I'm in the afterlife. Probably.'_

A long, sufferable sigh- that did _not_ come from him- cut Sasuke out of his musings. "Ino, get your cluster of girls and get away from that poor guy." The drawl in the voice was easily recognizable. "Go away. Disappear. Shoo. The bell has already rung, and sensei might be coming in any minute now. Troublesome women."

Ino turned around with a pout, tossing back her long blond ponytail. "Aww, you're no fun Shikamaru. Since when did you take over as class president?" She huffed. "You didn't even use to care if you stayed back for an entire year- until you came back from spring vacation."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, his form hunched and slouching as he eyed Sasuke contemplatively. Sasuke met his gaze evenly. Ino was right. Why the sudden interest? "I don't even know that you read newspapers- until today." Shikamaru replied Ino mildly. "Besides, I read this morning's papers, and there isn't a single advertisement about a photo contest. What, are you gonna pin the Uchiha's photos in the girl's locker room? Not all the ladies in this school are into him, in case you haven't noticed." Shikamaru continued drily. "You keep this up and tomorrow, the Uchiha's gonna come to school with a paper bag over his head-"

"Why, you…" Ino growled, voice rising to a shrill. "You're just jealous because Sasuke-kun's twice as smart as you and four times more handsome-"

"Sensei's coming. Let's go Ino. You can continue this later."Sakura hissed, and dragged her irate friend back to their seats. The president had already dispersed the rest of the girls, leaving only a relieved-looking Sasuke and a slouching Shikamaru. The staring had stopped too, as the rest of the class got ready for lessons proper- some poor blokes still trying to squeeze in a scribble or two into their uncompleted homework, their hands furiously flying over the worksheets.

"The paper bag statement was uncalled for." Sasuke said grudgingly, as he dug out his wallet from his pants pocket. It was, as usual, stuffed full with yen banknotes. "How much?"

Shikamaru looked down at him with something akin to amusement flickering in his black eyes. "I'll accept your gratitude, but I won't need anything either then that." The taller, lankier boy said, lips curling into a smirk. "But you really should try standing up to them yourself next time, Sasuke. I'll be seeing you around." He left, shuffling back to his seat and trying to get Chouji to keep his chips lest they get confiscated by the approaching teacher.

Before Sasuke even had time to ponder on the Nara's words, class 2-A's homeroom teacher had finally decided to make his much delayed appearance. Nonchalantly sliding the door open and sauntering to his desk without even bothering to close the door shut behind him, the homeroom, as well as English teacher dropped a pile of marked test papers from the previous week on his large oaken desk, and smiled down at the irritated, sullen faces that greeted him at the start of the week, through his white and absolutely ridiculous looking cough mask.

"Good morning, everyone." Hatake Kakashi beamed cheerfully at the bunch of antsy looking seventeen year olds. Sasuke could never understand how Kakashi's silver hair could stand up on its ends it that manner it did every single day. Kakashi himself didn't seem like the kind to empty a bottle of hair wax each morning, so maybe it was bed head? If so, it was a really bad and recurring case of bed head.

Sasuke realized that his sensei was now staring at him, waiting for him to give his commands. _'Right, I was- _am_ the class president.'_ Sasuke remembered bleakly. _'How the heck did I even get myself that job in the first place?'_ Hoisting himself up and resisting the urge to rub his forehead in frustration, Sasuke sighed, and followed protocol. "Kiritsu. Rei. Chakuseki." There was lot of din- from the scraping and banging of chairs- as the class did as they were told. Well, at least Kakashi was pleased now.

"Okay kiddies, let's look through the register. You know the procedure, I call your name, and you announce your presence to the class. You can sing, dance, rap, anything, but just make sure that I can hear you- oh, wait-" Kakashi began, but cut himself off as he glanced at his wrist watch. "Oh dear, look at the time. Homeroom is already over. I guess this is goodbye kiddies, I'll see you for English later." He lamented on his lack of time- which was ninety-nine point nine entirely his own fault, and swept through the class with his pair of lazy grey eyes swiftly, before writing down a slapdash number on the attendance list.

The class, all too used with his usual antics, simply carried on with their work, and prepared themselves for the next teacher that was about to come in, namely the strict science teacher, Uzuki Yuugao. Sasuke leaned towards the window, gazing outside onto the Sakura filled courtyard, and braced himself for yet another life-sapping, uneventful day. He will prove himself worthy of the Uchiha bloodline by emerging the top in the finals, and eventually clinch a good degree from the University of Tokyo just like his brother had done. His future was practically written out for him by his father; life couldn't get any more surprising than it already is.

But then he had always wondered why he had this feeling of discontentment buried deep within him. He had achieved everything he wanted- no, needed to – for now. He had everything life had to offer- riches, looks, intellect, fame. All he had to do now was wait each day to pass patiently, no matter how mundane they may seem to be. But Sasuke couldn't keep still. He was still displeased. He wanted to go out to the world, and accomplish something- but what? Sasuke wondered if this feeling he felt was his imagination, or if it was just himself being unreasonable, greedy and selfish.

The door snapped open once more, and Sasuke looked blearily at it, almost expecting to see the long amethyst mane of Yuugao-sensei streak past the whitewashed wooden frames, but all his sight met was the messy silvery spikes of Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke blinked. As did the rest of his classmates.

"Ahahaha… Sorry kiddies, but I seemed to have forgotten to tell you something really important." Kakashi chuckled nervously has he headed back to his desk. "You see, today, our class will be having the honor of inviting a new student into our tender loving care." Kakashi looked as though he was beaming, but behind his mask, nobody could really tell. "He's born in Japan, but he's been whisked away to America for some family business to attend to see, but now that everything's all wrapped up there, I guess it's safe to say that his stay in Japan is permanent." Kakashi shrugged, as though he couldn't care less- which probably wasn't a lie- and gestured at the door with one hand while patting his pockets down with the other.

" Yeah, but since he _can_ speak Japanese, and he _did_ spend the first few years of his life in Japan, I don't see why he can't fit in with you guys. So be good to him and show him around, okay?" Kakashi finished, and with much triumph, pulled out a whiteboard marker from inside his sleeves. Then he turned to the doorway. "Hey squirt. Come over here and introduce yourself to your new class quickly. You know, write your name on the board, and tell us your likes, dislikes, and dreams for the future… that sort of thing. Hurry up, I'm already late for my next class. I'll disappoint my other kawaii students."

"You were never early for any of your classes anyway, Kakashi-sensei. At least now you have a valid reason to give that class." Came the snide reply as the new transfer stepped into the classroom. All of Sasuke's sullen thoughts- regarding the lost of time due to showing some English-speaking moron the ropes around a Japanese high school- was thrown out of the window, as Sasuke found his eyes transfixed on the newcomer, widening with each detail it soaked in. Spiky hair the color of sunshine. Mischievous cerulean eyes. Whisker markings etched onto the cheeks. And that wide, foxy grin that revealed too-sharp canines.

Sasuke stood up, dumbfounded.

"…Naruto?"

* * *

Sasuke's a little brooding prick over here. Hopefully Naruto will be able to snap him out of it.

Vocabulary:

_Tenkousei- _Transfer student_  
Ittekimasu_- I'm leaving  
_Itterasshai_- Have a safe trip  
_Shidareyanagi_- Weeping Willow  
_Tensai_- Genius  
_Kami-sama_- God  
_Kiritsu. Rei. Chakuseki_- Rise. Bow. Take your seat.

Note 1- Japanese students change their usual outdoor shoes to indoor shoes whenever they're on school grounds. They have cubby holes to store each student's shoes.

Note 2- Depending on the school, there is homeroom at the beginning, or/and at the end of the day. It involves a short meeting with students regarding announcements or concerns. The meetings can be conducted by either the homeroom teacher himself, or by the class's respective president and vice president. The morning homeroom is usually used for the homeroom teacher to take attendance. Homeroom periods usually lasts for about fifteen minutes.

I am not Japanese. I do not live in Japan. And being a writer isn't my job occupation. So if you spot any mistakes in my story, fact-wise or grammar-wise, please do drop me a note so that I can correct the mistakes.

Thanks for reading,

TenkuuBatsu


	2. Saikai

Chapter 2- _Saikai_

* * *

Vivid cobalt blue eyes brightened immediately upon recognizing the shocked face that stared back unblinkingly. The grin, if possible, grew wider then it already was.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out happily, and waved back to and fro wildly.

Sasuke, from the other end of the room, seemed to have gotten over his initial shock, and realizing that he was still standing and receiving the numerous curious gazes from the rest of the class, sat down onto his chair with a huff. He scowled, immediately regretting acknowledging the blond, who was now at the front of the classroom, eagerly trying to get his attention.

There was now a small scuffle breaking out between Kakashi and Naruto, as the latter tried to head over towards Sasuke, and the former trying to restrain him as well as give the class a proper introduction. Sasuke felt like wilting in his seat as Naruto started squabbling with Kakashi to let him go so that he could head over and give Sasuke a hug. Their little wrestle earned them many amused and some slightly horrified looks from the class. Sasuke was displeased to find himself on the receiving end of some of those looks.

Finally, Naruto relented, and stood, albeit reluctantly, at the front of the class, trying to straighten out his rumpled uniform. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, returning from my long stay in America." Naruto grinned and offered a deep and dramatic, almost mocking, bow. "_Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu_." He turned to Kakashi. "There. Happy now?"

Kakashi gave a smile, just as sarcastic as Naruto's bow, as his eyes crinkled up to a close. "Yes, very. Okay squirt, homeroom is over. Go to your seat- the only empty one is that one behind Shikamaru- yes, that lazy lad with his head on the desk. Shikamaru, please be sure to show Naruto around the campus."

Shikamaru muttered something incoherent, but everyone in the class recognized it as 'Troublesome', the lanky boy's favorite catchphrase. Naruto scowled fiercely at Kakashi, one which could rival Sasuke's own. "No way. I wanna sit next to Sasuke." He insisted, sticking out a tongue at the exasperated homeroom teacher.

"Naruto, don't be difficult. Sasuke's already sitting next to Tobitake Tonbo-kun. Go sit next to Shikamaru. And stop acting like a child- you're seventeen, for heaven's sake." Kakashi groaned, but Naruto wasn't even close to listening. He was already waddling through the sea of desks, coming to a halt in front of said Tonbo.

"Hey you. Tobitake. Shove off. I declare this seat mine from today onwards." Naruto proclaimed, loudly and rudely, slamming his bag onto the desk with a thump.

"Says who?" Tonbo bit back, unwilling to let himself get intimidated.

"Says me." Naruto replied smugly, peering down at the other boy. "And Sasuke." He added as an afterthought.

Sasuke glared back. "Don't involve me in any of your mess, Naruto." He said evenly, folding his arms and leading backwards to show his indifference in the situation. "I want no part of it."

Naruto met his gaze challengingly, and his lips curved upwards into a smirk. Sasuke had a foreboding feeling of dread coming towards him. In a second, he suddenly knew why. "When Sasuke was five," Naruto began, speaking each word out slowly and clearly, savoring every minute of it. "Some dipshit in the neighborhood gave him a wedgie, and Mr. Crybaby was wailing for two days straight after- mrrpgh!"

Naruto was forced to cut off his sentence as Sasuke lunged at the blond, clamping the former's mouth shut with his hands, eyes wide with disbelief at what Naruto had just did, and teeth gritting in anger. "Not. Another. Word." Sasuke hissed. "How dare you-"

Naruto simply swiped Sasuke's hands off, and shrugged innocently. "When he was six," he began again, voice taking on a sing-song timbre, almost holding a tinge of threat at the end. "Sasuke was lost in the woods, and-"

Sasuke didn't even allow Naruto to bait him into a fist fight. "Enough. Tobitake. Get lost." He ordered, voice hard and commanding. Tonbo, as well as the entire class, looked at him with surprise marring their faces. Sasuke gave the poor guy his coldest, most ruthless glare at his lack of movement. "Move. _Now_."

Tonbo was smart enough to realize a threat when he saw one, and hurriedly shoved his stationary and books from both above and under the desk into his bag. Within a minute, Tonbo was already at the other end of the room, and Naruto sat down onto his hard-earned and crudely acquired seat, wearing a contented, goofy smile on his face. Sasuke remained standing, glaring down heavily at the blond. Naruto glanced up at his sour face. "Good morning to you too, Sasuke, my new neighbor." Naruto beamed.

Sasuke fixed the other a calculating look, and, after deciding that it was not worth the effort and energy, grunted and slumped into his own seat, sulking at the no-longer-as-nice view outside. His day had turned from the bearable plain mundane to the infuriating, not-bearable bad. All because of the sole appearance of his long lost, and hopelessly un-contactable childhood friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Who was currently smiling to himself, humming a small victory tune out loud- apparently still relishing his victory over Kakashi, Tonbo, and Sasuke himself.

"Tough day for you, Kakashi-sempai?" came the cool voice of Uzuki Yuugao as she walked briskly in through the door, laptop under one arm, and a stack of papers under the other. "Transfer students tend to do that to you."

"Don't start, Yuugao-sensei. It's only the beginning of the day." Kakashi groaned, shaking his head at his apparent growing migraine, and left, slowly ambling to his next class. "Good luck with the new kid. You're gonna be needing a whole lot of it."

Yuugao simply shut the door softly as soon a Kakashi was gone.

"Alright. Are we ready to begin our lessons for today?"

Sasuke stared blankly to the front. Truthfully, all he currently wanted to do was to run back home and sleep for the entire day, without constantly being disturbed by worries regarding schoolwork and projects. Without worrying if he had upheld the Uchiha's name for the day. Without worrying if he had appeared to be anything less then perfect. Without worrying if anyone realized that he was actually anything but prepared deep inside. But he shoved all these thoughts away as he replied his sensei obediently, together with the rest of the class.

"Ready as always, Yuugao-sensei."

* * *

After chemistry came mathematics, Japanese language, and finally Geology rolled past without a hitch. Naruto seemed to be coping well, although he seemed as though he wasn't paying attention at certain times, with his eyes glazed over and his mouth hanging slightly open. That was probably true, if Sasuke's somewhat hazy childhood memories had served him correct. Uzumaki Naruto always had a short attention span.

The lunch bell rang, and the geology teacher, Yamato packed up and headed out. The rest of the class, after certifying that he was finally out and away, immediately burst into a flurry of activities. A large bunch slammed open the doors and sprinted down to the cafeteria, lest they would have to get caught in the endlessly long queue for food, or shuffle around with their trays, trying to find empty seats. The people remaining in the classroom sauntered around, much more relaxed then the first group of students, seeing as they had mothers to pack _bento_s to eat for them. A few went out, to eat in the breezier courtyard or rooftop. The rest simply pushed their tables together and had a large meal as a group.

Soon, the only two left not stuffing their faces with food were himself and Naruto. Sasuke sighed and turned to face the blond sitting at the desk to the right of his own. Naruto was still staring into space, trying to look engrossed in the lesson which had long ended. Sasuke thought of snapping the blond out of his thoughts, but halted his hand halfway through, deciding that he liked the boy better this way. At least he was quiet and unmoving, and wouldn't disturb Sasuke the slightest. He reached into his bag to fish out the bento his mother had packed for him this morning.

Apparently, the large loud movements of the class couldn't snap Naruto out of his stupor, but Sasuke's minute shifting could. Naruto jerked awake, blinking a few times to clear his vision up, and looked around the half empty classroom. "Wha- Whao. Lesson's over? Sweet." He grinned at the obvious to Sasuke, and mirrored the other's actions.

Sasuke grunted in reply, as he silently bade farewell to a silent lunch. _'But then again, you told yourself you wanted something different_,' he thought. He just didn't knew that his request would be granted in the worst possible way it could ever had been- in the form of an Uzumaki Naruto. He began picking at his _umeboshi _in despondency. Then he felt Naruto's piercing stare directed at him. Or more specifically, the food on his desk. "What?" He snapped.

"Shokado bento with broiled salmon, _tamagoyaki_, pickled vegetables and _ebi furai_." Naruto exclaimed, listing all the contents and practically drooling at the sight. "Your food has quality as usual, Sasuke! Can I have some?"

"Get your own." Sasuke grouched, and straightening out his chopsticks, began eating his food proper. His mother had outdone herself yet again with his lunch, he noted with each bite. Despite the food turning cold during lessons, it still did not lose its excellent flavor. He looked over to see what Naruto had brought. He had to do a double take to make sure that he was seeing right, as Naruto uncovered his plastic bento box.

Apparently, it wasn't a daily occurrence, since Naruto too, was staring down at his boxed lunch in shock, which quickly dissolved into irritation as he frowned down at his rice. Two fat round pandas smiled back at him. "I'm gonna kill my old man when I get back." Naruto groaned, covering his eyes in shame and humiliation. Sasuke let out an agreeing snort in disbelief. Naruto had brought a Kyaraben, complete with the cute characters that generally came along with it. "How old does he think I am? Five?" He bemoaned, poking at the octopus-shaped sausages at the side.

"You act like one." Sasuke felt inclined to point out, before shoving in another mouthful of rice.

"That itself is a different story altogether." Naruto replied seriously, still looking down at his bento, aghast. "Sasuke, I can't eat this!" he said a moment later. "They're just too…too cute! I can't bear to eat them! Can we switch?"

"Then starve." Sasuke said scathingly. "I'm not going to trade my bento with yours. I have tempura in mine- you don't have anything other then cheap sausages."

"Don't be so cold. I'll give you a panda. For a slice of salmon." Naruto begged. He joined his table together with Sasuke's. "Here, hand them over," and as he said that, Naruto made to reach out to Sasuke's bento with his chopsticks- to which Sasuke swatted away with much irritancy.

"What do you think I am, stupid?" Sasuke snapped, hastily shoveling in more food into his mouth before Naruto could get to them. Naruto gave up on wrestling food off the Uchiha and stared despondently at his own, muttering foul names under his breath, all of them insultingly similar to 'selfish picky bastard'. He turned his bento around his desk, deciding on which angle he could attack the pandas from without having to feel guilty about destroying them. The Kyaraben didn't have a single ugly side to it. Naruto's father had done an extremely good job with it.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun. Why don't you come over and join us for lunch?"

Sasuke looked up and frowned even deeper. It was Sakura and Ino, with the rest of their little cheer group hovering around in the background, hope plastered all over their cosmetic-filled faces. Sasuke had always wondered why they were not banned from classes, since the make-up they wore almost every day, along with their too-short skirts, definitely defied school regulations. But then, Kakashi came to mind and Sasuke decided to drop the subject. He went back to his meal- all his politeness had been used up for the day- and only gave them a grunt in reply.

"Aw, come on. Why not?" Naruto questioned, fox-like grin fixed in place. "It sounds like fun. And you're gonna be with so many babes as well."

Sasuke fixed Naruto a sullen glare. "Then why don't you go sit with them. _You_ don't have any reason to be eating next to me."

"That's cruel, Sasuke." Naruto whined. "I'm sitting here because I want to. And here I was thinking that we were friends."

Naruto had just pulled the ultimate trump card. There was no way a polite Uchiha would have been able to rebuke that last sentence without causing a bit of damage of the other party's side. If it was anybody else saying that line, Sasuke would have found it highly suspicious, nerve wrecking, and started periodic scans for any bugs in the vicinity. But since it was Naruto- the number one idiot that spoke straight from his heart- that said it, Sasuke had believed very word then and there, and was actually feeling quite touched.

"Do as you wish." He said, leant back, and polished up his bento smoothly, almost lazily. He was quite relieved to know that Naruto still considered him a friend after almost seven years of no communication. He had actually felt bad, apologetic, about that, and was worrying over it. The confirmation was a relief. The corners of his lips were twitching into a smile. Almost. It was small, but it seemed as though Naruto had caught it, and the other's grin grew even wider.

"Is that a Kyaraben? Eh, that's so cute!" Sakura had caught sight of Naruto's bento, and was squealing over it. "Did your mother make this for you?"

_Touching moment ruined_, Sasuke thought wryly, as Naruto's smile faltered slightly as he turned to face the girls. But before he even had the chance to answer, however, Sakura had already carried on talking.

"That's really sweet of her. You must have a really loving mother, Uzumaki-san." She gushed, picking up the bento for a closer examination, without even bothering to ask for permission. "Hey, Ino. Come look at this. These pandas are really well made, aren't they?"

Ino snuck a disinterested glance. "What are you talking about? I can make a better one any time!" She sniffed, before turning to Sasuke with a sweet smile. "Sasuke-kun, just say the word, and I'll bring an even cuter Kyaraben then this ugly thing tomorrow."

_The only ugly thing here is your face_, Sasuke thought angrily. Then realized what he had just thought of, and clenched and unclenched his fists, determined not to let anger gain control over his body. He breathed in deeply. _That's right, this isn't my problem. It's Naruto's. He's capable of handling it if he wants to. I shouldn't get involved in someone else's mess. This is absolutely none of my business._

"Hey, Haruno Sakura-san, was it? If you don't mind, could I have my bento back please?" Naruto spoke up with a sheepish laugh. "Lunch break's gonna end soon, and I haven't even started eating yet, so…"

"Oh, sure. Sorry. It looks like I got carried away." Sakura smiled, placing Naruto's plastic lunchbox back down onto the desk. "By the way, do you think I suit Sasuke-kun better, or Ino?"

"Erm…"Naruto looked slightly confused and flustered at the sudden random change of topic in the conversation. He looked at Sasuke for help, but Sasuke only turned his head away in disgust, declining to reply, and carried on ignoring them as best as he could. He knew where this was going. Naruto had already established himself as someone on good terms with the Uchiha. Both Sakura and Ino weren't stupid- they'd use Naruto to get themselves on better terms with himself. Naruto would find himself betrayed, and Sasuke would be pestered for all eternity. Nothing good would ever come out from this.

"Obviously he would pick me, Sakura." Ino butt in, eyes shining now that they were speaking on a subject she can truly start a huge-scale debate on. "After all, I'm the prettier girl. You're just all brains and no looks."

"And you're just all looks with not a single ounce of brains inside." Sakura sniffed disdainfully. "That's even more depressing."

_You're all brainless ugly chickens. The only assets you have are your big irritating mouths. Now go away…_

"Actually, I think you both are just as good as each other, so please don't pick a fight while I'm trying to digest my panda over here, okay?" Naruto tried to placate them while stuffing sausages into his mouth, eyes flying to the wall clock at the front of the classroom every now and then.

"Hey, Uzumaki Naruto-san. On closer inspection," Ino swooped down over Naruto, eyes narrowed and rubbing her chin thoughtfully, scrutinizing her fellow blond. Naruto stared back at her unflinchingly and questioningly with a sausage filled mouth. "Aren't you by any chance related to Namikaze Minato?"

_Don't butt in. Don't involve yourself. Don't lose your cool. Don't give them the chance to rile you up. _

"Uh…" Naruto was definitely looking uncomfortable now, as he tried to concentrate on his bento and think of a way to skirt around this particular topic.

"Oooh, I've heard of him." Sakura chimed in, eyes wide. "He's that handsome guy who's been on the news recently right? He's a billionaire tycoon or something… Now that you mention it, the hair and eye color do resemble him somewhat…"

_It's not your business. You shouldn't care._

_Crack. Snap._

"Shut_ up_."

Silence descended momentarily upon the classroom. The group of giggling cheerleaders grew quiet, and Ino, Sakura and Naruto turned to face Sasuke with various degree of surprise filtering through their faces. Sasuke took a deep breath and released his splintered wooden chopsticks from his hands, dropped them onto his desk, before dusting splinters off his hands.

"Sakura. Ino. You're annoying. Get lost." Sasuke said blandly, eyeing them as though he was eyeing lowly disgusting garbage. A few girls in the back let out soft dramatic gasps as their chairman and vice-chairman was told off by Sasuke himself. He turned his infuriated glare towards the rest of his classmates. "The rest of you- get back to your seats. Lunch break will be ending soon. Please prepare for the next lesson."

The shock lasted for a few more minutes, before the class hurriedly left, scrambling to comply his orders, with Sasuke's dispassionate hawk-like gaze tailing them wherever they went, making sure that they followed obediently. That only left him and Naruto, who had yet to move a single spot, gaping at him with eyes wide in shock. He was not spared from Sasuke's death glare.

"And you." Sasuke said, towering over his blond friend threateningly. He reached down, grabbing the little plastic box which now only held two fat pandas, (the rest of the food were relatively normal-looking so Naruto was long done with them) and holding Naruto's pair of chopsticks firmly in his hands, (his own having been crushed into smithereens) mashed the panda onigiri into bits and pieces (ignoring Naruto's horrified cry) until they lost their form and only resembled smashed rice with seaweed bits littered within them. He shoved the lunchbox and chopsticks under Naruto's nose. "Eat."

"Panda-chan!" Naruto gasped in horror. "Panda-chan has been mutilated by the evil panda killer Sasuke-man!"

Sasuke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes. And the evil panda killer Sasuke-man will mutilate you too, if you don't eat this right now."

"But I'm not a panda!" Naruto protested. "And I'm not gonna eat Panda-chan's pulverized body!"

"So you're saying that you will eat if I turn you into a panda, is that right?" Sasuke's grinned predatorily. He cracked his knuckles loudly. "Alright Naruto. Just sit there, close your eyes, and stay put. It might hurt a little, but I swear, before you know it, you'll have a face with eyes that will put all pandas to shame-"

"Okay chill, Sasuke." Naruto backtracked all too quickly. "You don't have to do anything. I'll eat."

"A wise decision." Sasuke's evil grin of doom had yet to leave his face. He glanced at the clock. "You have five minutes to set your table straight and finish off Panda-chan's remains before the next teacher arrives."

Sasuke could practically hear Naruto's internal swearing as the blond shoved down mouthful after mouthfuls of rice non-stop, determined to force everything down his throat lest he'd face his father's wrath when he gets home. A pity he couldn't inhale food if it was anything but ramen. Sometimes, being able to do what you wanted was just _so damn satisfying_.

* * *

Thankfully for Naruto, the next period was English Language, and Kakashi did not disappoint the blond, or his reputation, by arriving on time. He was missing for the first half of the lesson, to which Naruto made full usage of by finishing up his bento until it was clean and sparkling, going as far as to lick up every grain of rice off it. By the time Naruto had finished in contentment, Kakashi had unknowingly received multiple praises of gratitude from the blond teen.

"So, Sasuke," Naruto began, wrapping up his bento box rather messily with a _furoshiki_ that was dyed in a horrible shade of orange. "How long has it been since you last spoke up to someone like that?"

Sasuke gave a noncommittal grunt. He was starting to regret his earlier rude actions, but after realizing that it was already done and he couldn't find a time machine anywhere, decided that sulking over it was simply not worth the time and effort and was determined to shove it down into the recess of his mind where it will lay, eternally forgotten and untouched. Until Naruto came along and ruthlessly yanked it back up.

"What was that? I didn't catch that." Naruto said loudly, cupping a hand over an ear and gaining several glances from the class.

"Seven years, dumbshit. Now pipe down!" Sasuke hissed, feeling extremely annoyed at the moment. He eyed the stupid grin on Naruto's stupid face, and the irritation increased. "_What_?"

"Nothing." Naruto sang, still grinning. "But isn't mister Uchiha here worrying about his reputation plunge to rock bottom right now? You're regretting it, aren't you?"

Naruto's bull's-eye accuracy made Sasuke slightly unnerved and fidgety, but he hid it well under a mask of indifference. "I'm not regretting anything." He said flatly. "If you're feeling bad about it, then you can treat it as seven years of apologies for not keeping in contact."

"I didn't exactly contact you either, so that's even." Naruto countered effortlessly. "I didn't even send you my address once we've settled down. Security was tight over there, sorry."

"Understandable. Still, I should've tracked your location down." Sasuke said.

"And you've ended up with a very angry papa chasing your heels for breaking his security." Naruto snorted.

"It was worth the risk if it meant that we could talk to each other." Sasuke pointed out.

"Cut the crap Sasuke. I'm not worth it." Naruto said, tone darkening, attitude doing a surprising one-eighty. "I'm not worthy of your protection. I'm not worthy of your concern. And I'm certainly not worthy of our friendship. I don't understand why you still stand up for me. And risk your _Uchiha honor_ for a loser like myself."

And with that, Sasuke suddenly realized that Naruto might've been just as insecure as him about the reunion_. It was a big joke_, he thought. Here he was, worrying that time might've changed their bonds. That Naruto might come back a different person. That maybe Naruto would no longer find him fun to be with. That they might never eat, laugh and play as they used to do seven years ago. That _his_ Naruto may have long been lost forever. He worried so much for himself; he hadn't stopped to think for the other party. That maybe Naruto was feeling exactly the same way as he was feeling now. They were two idiotic morons, who were forcing each other to act nice, out of fear that they may rip the fragile bonds between them.

He tried to give Naruto a reply- he tried to say a lot of things, but the words just wouldn't- couldn't- form in his suddenly dry lips. They didn't talk to each other for the rest of the day. Sasuke spent the entire English, History, Art, and finally Biology class staring bleakly at his assignments, completing it almost half-heartedly, but as usual, perfectly. Naruto was constantly hovering by his side, copying off the Uchiha, a quiet, uncomfortable companion. Sasuke didn't like to see him looking like this- anxious and unfocused.

Which was why, after a mere ten minutes of homeroom, when everyone dispersed from the classroom to rush down for after-school activities, or simply eager to hit the mall or go straight home, Sasuke pulled Naruto back from the large group of students, determined to get a word in.

"It was worth it." Sasuke said firmly, locking eyes with Naruto. He held out a clenched fist. "It was worth every single drop of it. It wouldn't hurt to shed a little family pride, if it meant that I could get my best friend back."

_Okaeri, Naruto._

Sasuke waited. Naruto looked blank for a few moments, before he smiled widely in reply, and reached out to punch Sasuke's awaiting fist. The smile he wore on his face seemed much brighter and honest than those goofy grins he had wore on his face that day. It might've been contagious- Sasuke felt his own face break into a smile- at true smile that he hadn't worn for seven long tiresome years.

_Tadaima, Sasuke._

* * *

A week had passed since Naruto last entered the Academy. He was adapting pretty well to the changed environment, to the teachers, and to his classmates. In fact, he got along with them on much better terms then Sasuke ever had. Others might've called it humiliating, to be ousted by someone seven years your junior in terms of school experience, but Sasuke didn't care. It had never been in the Uchiha's character to get along well with people, unless it was for beneficial purposes. That's when their acting skills come into play.

Naruto had kept him fairly entertained enough, with his stupidity and idiotic antics and jokes- which half of them weren't intentional. Sasuke realized after seeing Naruto that day that the blond did grew up some- he was slightly more sensitive and thoughtful towards others, and it did help that his academic tolerance did grow by ten percent as well. But other than that, it was a relief to find that Naruto was still the same old Naruto that had left him seven years back, and not a complete stranger. Lastly, he was glad to see that Naruto, no matter how friendly he got with the rest of the class, still stuck onto him like flies to flypaper. No wait, that sounded wrong.

The year was picking up to Sasuke's liking.

But he just had to tolerate the usual impatience and annoyance that came with it. Today was a fine example of it. Sasuke found himself jolted out of his musings on one afterschool homeroom period, by none other than his blond friend, who was jabbing him hard at the sides with a stick which he had picked up from the ground.

"Hey Sasuke. The bloody Principal called me in today. The old hag wants me to join a club." Naruto whined, sulking at a pile of leaflets featuring their school's various after-school clubs. He was sitting crossed legged on his chair.

"Then join one." Sasuke replied absentmindedly, working on his mathematics homework. "I don't care which. And frankly speaking, I'm not even interested. Just pick a club and enter. We even have a food sampling club, so go there and win them some ramen badges."

"I might die of atherosclerosis." Naruto pointed out scathingly, scanning through the various colored parchments. "What club are you in, Sasuke?"

"Track and field." Sasuke grunted, punching numbers into his calculator rapidly. "If you want to join the more popular clubs, I'd suggest baseball, basketball, kendo, judo, mountain climbing, or gymnastics."

"What? All athletic clubs?" Naruto whined. "Boring." He threw the bunch of pamphlets into the air, scattering them all over the classroom floor. He jumped onto his now empty table, perching precariously over it, swinging his legs out freely from below him. "The clubs here are too dull."

"You're going to pick those papers off the floor once you're done with your whining." Sasuke didn't even spared a glance away from his work. "Oh hey, what's logx(8e3) = 3?"

"Log?" Naruto repeated dumbly. "The ones ninjas use for _kawarimi_?"

"There you go with your ninja make-believe again." Sasuke muttered, scribbling down his workings. "Nevermind. Its x = 2e. Moron."

"Don't ask if you're just gonna answer it by yourself." Naruto grumbled darkly. "So I've been thinking, Sasuke. Can students form their own clubs?"

"You need to get a teacher-in-charge, the principal's approval and at least five members, but it is possible." Sasuke said monotonously, as though he had recited it from heart, which he probably had. "But I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to go through all that trouble to create a freaking club-"

"Let's do it."

"Do what?" Sasuke said, thoroughly engrossed in his piece of worksheet.

"Let's make a club. You and me."

_That_ got Sasuke looking up. They had a little staring contest for awhile, before Sasuke was the one to break the silence. "You're being ridiculous. And I am already committed to a club."

"Come on Sasuke, it'll be fun. I'll form my own club. And then you can be the vice-president." Naruto grinned down at him. "And we'll say bye-bye to our boring school days." He threw his arms up into the air, letting out a loud whoop in delight.

"…What sort of club are you going to form?" Sasuke asked curiously. Their school had almost all the club anyone could ever name; he didn't think that Naruto wouldn't be able to _not_ find a club he desired to join.

Naruto grinned, and chose not to reply, scratching down on a piece of paper which he noisily tore out of his notebook instead.

Sasuke blinked as he peered down at the sheet that was dangling in front of him, held out by an excited Naruto. Two scratchily written kanji stood out, black and bold against stark white. " Anzumu?" The name rolled out of his tongue funny. In fact, Sasuke reckoned that this was the first time he'd ever seen such a strange word throughout his entire life.

"It's ANBU!" Naruto snapped, looking peeved. "That's the kanji for '_Anzu'_ and '_Buzama'_. You take the 'An' from '_Anzu'_, and 'Bu' from '_Buzama'_, and then you'll get 'ANBU'! And here I was thinking that you were a genius."

"If you separate the 'Bu' from '_Buzama'_, everyone would have read it as 'Mu'. And that's the kanji for '_Anzu'_, and 'An'." Sasuke said, amused. "Only an idiot like you would read it as _Anbu_."

Naruto childishly stuck out his tongue, redrew his paper and huffed, annoyed, as he stared fixedly back at it. "I thought it was cool."

"_Buzama no Anzu_. AnBu." Sasuke tested the name out. It felt familiar on his lips, coming out smoothly, fluidly, and naturally. As though he had been saying it numerous times before, even though it had just been invented by Naruto a few minutes ago. "I like it." He told his friend, who wore an expression of gleeful shock on his face. "The clumsy apricot. It's a damn good definition of you."

"Well, I am going to be the President." Naruto replied smugly. "So you'll join?"

Sasuke seriously considered his offer. It was tempting. It was really really tempting. Sasuke knew that only Naruto would be able to give him that ounce of excitement he needed. He wanted to just throw away his track team's jersey and join Naruto instead, but the risks were too high and numerous. And his father would probably not stand with it if Sasuke dropped his title in the track team and join a no fame club instead.

"Sure I'll join, Naruto. I'll be your vice-president as well." Sasuke said slowly, a small grin spreading out from across his face. "But only if you manage to make the club official, that is, go through the proper administration procedures. And I am still keeping my track team."

"I'll take on that challenge of yours, Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto declared with a grin just twice as wide as Sasuke's own. "If I win, I'm gonna have a blast ordering you around the school. Not to mention overworking you with that pile of homework and track team of yours."

"What homework?" Sasuke asked casually, already clearing his desk and shoving all his books into his bags, ready to go home. He handed in his math homework to the teacher's desk, before getting back to his seat quickly, and neatly placed all his scattered stationary back into his pencil case. He had cleaning duty today, and he was eager to skip it by leaving the school as quickly as possible.

Naruto spluttered in disbelief beside him. "You mean you finished Asuma-sensei's worksheet of terror in fifteen minutes?"

"All thanks to the fact Kakashi skipped his entire homeroom period. If you don't finish yours by today, you won't be able to go home, you know." Sasuke said, slinging his bag over one shoulder and pushing his chair in with his free hand. Naruto was groaning loudly, moaning about the unfairness of people with larger brains. Sasuke made his way to the back door. "Oh, and don't keep me waiting too long with the new club, Naruto."

Sasuke didn't need to turn to know that Naruto was shaking a fist in anger from behind his back.

Naruto didn't need to follow Sasuke to tell that the Uchiha was smirking at him throughout his entire walk back home that day.

* * *

This chapter may have come out extremely shonen-ai. But I seriously swear that I'm not into that kind of stuff.

Vocabulary:  
_Saikai_- Reunion  
_Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu- _Nice to meet you  
_Umeboshi- _Japanese pickled plum  
_Shokado bento_- A traditional black-lacquered Japanese bento box  
_Tamagoyaki_- A type of Japanese omelette  
_Ebi furai _- Fried prawn  
_Kyaraben_- A decorated bento  
_Furoshiki- _Japanese wrapping cloth  
_Okaeri_- Welcome home  
_Tadaima_- I'm home  
_Kawarimi-_Substitution  
_Anzu_- Apricot  
_Buzama_- Unshapely; unsightly; clumsy; unpresentable; uncouth

Note 1- The kanji I picked for Naruto's club name is 杏無, which is read as Anzumu, which doesn't mean anything. However, 杏無様 is read as Anzu Buzama, to which Naruto shortened it to be read as AnBu, to the amusement of Sasuke, since this is definitely not possible and just Naruto spewing nonsense.

Note 2- Kyaraben is a short term for 'Character bento', which is a bento decorated to resemble objects- human, plants, animal…etc. I would highly suggest that you do an image search on it. Sakura wasn't lying when she said that they (the well made ones, obviously) were cute.

Note 3- For those who don't know, Japanese teachers go from classroom to classroom instead of students, so students usually stay put in one classroom unless for special lessons- eg. During physical activity classes, they go to the gym or field. During practical science lessons, they go to the respective labs.

Note 4- It is possible to make a club in certain Japanese schools. It is not compulsory for all students to take up a club, but it is highly recommended for them to do so. I guess it depends on the respective Japanese school's rules if they allow students to pick up more than one club- if the student can cope with it, that is.

Note 5- Students clean up the school at the end of each day. Usually, a duty roster will be drawn up, and the respective students will have to stay back and clean up. Most students will follow obediently. Others push their duties onto someone else, intentionally or unintentionally- like Sasuke.

I'll admit that I'm not a Japanese, nor do I exactly know their culture extremely well, so if I did actually screw up at something, please do drop me a note and I'll fix up the damage.

I hoped that you've enjoyed the chapter.

Until next time,

TenkuuBatsu


	3. Shoshin

Mission 3- _Shoshin_

* * *

Sasuke took a look at Naruto's smug face the following morning and resisted the urge to bash his head into his desk in frustration. He compromised himself by letting out a large moan in dismay instead. "Remind me again how the hell I managed to get myself into such a lame club." He groaned drearily.

"It's not lame!" Naruto objected, gleefully smoothing out the papers in his hands, and kissing them with great gusto. He waved them repeatedly in front of Sasuke's irritated eyes, laughing as his actions made the Uchiha glare at it harder. "As of today, AnBu is official! Look, the old hag even gave us an empty classroom to conduct our club activities in!"

_If it was empty before, it certainly wasn't now_, Sasuke thought, scrutinizing his surroundings. It had taken the blond an entire week to get his club officially registered- which might've been a feat considering how stingy their principal was. The first four days were spent, focusing solely persuading her to sign his registration form, and hoodwinking three more members to sign their name up. Naruto had did so by making a large announcement at the end of a homeroom period, and to his great fat luck- and Sasuke's mighty horror, he had exactly three names by the end of the day. Sasuke cursed the idiots who donated their names the entire trip home.

The remaining three days were spent on furnishing the empty classroom the club had been given- to which Naruto used the entire club budget on. Sasuke was left wondering how they were going to conduct activities with nonexistent funds. But he did give in to the fact that Naruto's decorating skills had somewhat improved over the last few years.

The clubroom was decorated simply, with basic desks pushed together in the center to form a long meeting table, a large bulletin board pinned onto the wall on the left, and a long row of coat hangers were stuck onto the walls on the right. A large couch, or rather a daybed, was tucked neatly under said hangers, whilst a maneuverable whiteboard was pushed against the left wall, next to large sets of lockers. Next to the couch stood, to Sasuke's curiosity, a set of changing curtains. All windows lining the front and back of the room were shaded, and -as though it was not enough- curtained to a close to block out the outside view. At the far corner stood an office desk which held a state-of-the-art computer, sleek black and shining. Sasuke noted that that was what drained the club dry of funds. And that the style of the room was strangely militaristic- simple, and only holding the barest necessities required.

But then again, maybe Naruto had simply splurged his budget money on the computer, realized that he didn't have any funds left, and scrimped the rest of the money on cheap furniture from budget stores.

"So what do you think of our new club's design, Sasuke?" Naruto grinned widely, as he pinned up a large map displaying the entire town on the bulletin board. It was huge, but it only covered half of the board. Sasuke moved over to help him, noting as he did so, that the map was highly detailed. Each building and house was labeled, marked down in minute printings, and it displayed clearly train lines and roadways alike.

"Adequate." Sasuke grunted, hammering a pin down into one corner of the map. It was true. "At least you toned down on the orange." He commented. "It feels stupid of me to be asking you this, but what will we actually be doing in this club anyway?"

"Hmm… to put it simply… anything and everything I guess." Naruto said bluntly from his perch on the chair, which he had taken to pin down the upper corners of the map. "We're gonna be like a mini _Yorozuya_."

In his shock, Sasuke pricked his fingers and started cussing whilst Naruto laughed at his expertise. "What the heck did I get myself into?" Sasuke said, almost hysterically, and went to the lockers to search for the club's first aid kit.

"You got that right, Uchiha Sasuke. Since there are currently only two of us as active members, you'll have to weed the garden if we get a request, vice-president or no." Naruto grinned. "But don't worry about it too much, I'll help out too, and we'll get paid for these jobs."

"You're going to charge them?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. "You're going to charge students for participating in _your_ club activity?"

"What can I say? We're going to be a one-of-a-kind kind of club. The first in the entire neighborhood that generates money." Naruto shrugged lightly. "As long as they pay the proper price, I'll clean up their dirty business for them."

"You're stooping too low." Sasuke frowned. "And it's not like you'll need the money either."

"I'll only accept requests that I want. Think about it- we'll have different requests for each day. This'll beat those clubs that do routine, repetitive work. It'll be fun." Naruto replied. "Besides, I'll bet that the only requests we're going to receive are those boring ones like finishing homework, fetching stuff, cleaning up-"

"Great. I'm the vice-pres of a gofer club." Sasuke said sullenly, all previous anticipation gone.

"Jack-of-all-Trades. Not gofer." Naruto corrected amusedly. "Come on, it won't be too bad. You're such a wuss, Sasuke."

Sasuke eyed Naruto critically. "You're not going to make it. Forget that. _I_ won't be able to make it. This club will be forced to disband after a week; two weeks if we get lucky." Sasuke said despairingly. "I can't last long doing manual labor, and you're an idiot with no brains. And we're taking money from the students."

"What are you talking about? Is Uchiha Sasuke chickening out just because he thinks can't do it? Having second thoughts about your genius, Sasuke? Where did all your Uchiha confidence go?" Naruto mocked, eyes boring into Sasuke's face, suddenly serious. He squatted down on this chair. "I knew that even geniuses have their limits, but you're disappointing me."

Naruto was goading him. He wanted his friend to get riled up, and take on his challenge to cover up his dented pride. Sasuke knew that. But the words rang loudly in his ears, and with a pang of guilt, he realized that Naruto was right. He had no confidence in completing even the barest of basics, though he passed the hurdles his teachers and parents threw at him without difficulty. Naruto's hurdles were different- easier than all the rest, yet harder jump through. He had no faith in his best friend.

"You're right. I don't think that I can carry out the duties as a member of AnBu properly. I might be a genius, but that doesn't mean I can excel at everything life throws at me. I'm not god." Sasuke agreed bluntly. Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief at his rare admittance. "The activities of the clubs are too random and varied. The timings and effort put into each session are unfixed. There's no proper schedule. Everything is all touch-and-go. And you should know my personality well by now Naruto- I'm not suited for this kind of stuff-"

"Wimp." Naruto cut in. "What you just said might've sounded real logical, but they're just pretty excuses that hold no meaning in them. They're just there for you to play make-believe by yourself, to cover up your faults-"

"_BUT,_ I'm still going to go on with his absolutely ridiculous plan of yours." Sasuke finished, completely ignoring Naruto, whose jaws dropped open at those words. "I have no confidence in this, and I'm going to be risking my pride for it, but if anything else, I just hate losing without the match even starting." He clarified, eyeing Naruto haughtily. "Besides, you're an even bigger idiot then I am. Without me around, AnBu won't even last for three days." Sasuke added tauntingly as he smirked down at the blond.

Naruto simply gaped back like a fish out of water. He didn't even manage out a weak retort back at Sasuke's jabs. Sasuke felt his smirk suddenly turn into a frown as he swooped down to inspect his friend, waving a concerned hand over the other's tanned face. "... Did you fry your brain, Naruto?"

"I did not!" Naruto snapped as he finally seemed to have caught hold of himself, regaining control over his thought. He slapped away Sasuke's hand, annoyed. He studied Sasuke closely. "…You've changed." He said grudgingly after a long pause. His voice sounded strained, wistful, and almost melancholic. "You're different from the Sasuke I used to know."

"Yeah, well, I grew up. Idiot." Sasuke replied with forced casualness. Naruto's words had twisted his gut painfully_. What did I say wrong? Did I really change that much?_ He was somewhat scared that maybe the other would probably distance himself away from him now that he had warmed up to Sasuke more and more_. He can't leave. Naruto's the only friend I've got._

"Yeah. Yeah, you did. It's for the better now, I suppose." Naruto smiled back at him, to Sasuke's great relief. " I'd better grow up to. I can't be losing to you all the time, can I?"

Sasuke gave a small smile back in reply. "Bring it on, dobe. You know that I love challenges. Or else you wouldn't have asked me to join this club."

But deep down, he knew that Naruto had already won this match.

* * *

"How was club activities today?" Sasuke asked as he entered the clubroom, still dressed in his dark bottle green sports jersey, a slight sheen of sweat covering his face from his afternoon track and field practice. It had already been slightly past a week, and to Sasuke's and Naruto's delight, their club was managing fine. Students and teachers alike had both taken to it pretty well.

"The usual." Naruto replied, hard at work at one of the desks, trying to forge out an essay with a particularly tricky cursive font. Sasuke noted that he was accomplishing this task pretty well. "Asuma-sensei wanted me to drag some escaping students back to the detention rooms, some poor kid wanted me to find his misplaced indoor shoes, 2-B wanted me to tidy up their classroom, and we have the usual desk work from the third year seniors."He reported dutifully.

Sasuke fetched a towel from the lockers and slug it casually over his shoulders, after using it to wipe his face and neck dry. He sat on the desk opposite of Naruto's, and dragged a pile of workbooks towards him. Each of them had been neatly labeled with what pages had to be completed in Naruto's scratchy handwriting. Sasuke took the topmost book and immediately started on the work, despite it being on a standard higher than his own. "It's all fine and dandy, but if they keep pushing their work on us, they won't be able to pass their entrance exams this year."

"I don't care." Naruto replied bluntly, hard at work. "As long as they pay, I won't be saying anything. Finally, I'm done." He exhaled in relief, and put aside the completed and forged essays, reaching towards the files for another request.

"You're unusually dedicated to your work." Sasuke noted as he eyed out a particularly difficult question, even for a third year. Asuma-sensei was probably torturing his graduating students. It wasn't any wonder why his seniors look so dead nowadays- and it was only the beginning of the year.

Naruto shrugged. "I take my missions with absolute seriousness." He said gravely, as he helped Sasuke out with the third year's workload. "I wouldn't want to disappoint my beloved clients."

Sasuke noted that the blond was right. Each request they had accepted were noted down, along with the client's name and contact information. Mission schedules were pinned up over the bulletin board. The whiteboard spotted the list of tasks that had to be completed for the day. The paperwork was arranged in piles according to their due dates. Sasuke had never known that the blond could be so organized his he actually put his mind into it.

But though the club was coping through somehow, it wasn't as though they were particularly famous within the school, and thanks to that, the workload was still rather manageable between the two of them. To Sasuke's great relief, it turned out that Naruto could keep up with third year work as well. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as Sasuke had made him up to be.

AnBu could've become instantly popular if Naruto had decided to sell of photos of himself and Sasuke. But at least his friend was loyal- he had turned down every request which required their autographs, candid camera shots, passing of love letters, or pieces of their ripped or old clothing. Seriously, fan girls could be rather scary sometimes. Some would actually pay quite a tidy sum of money if Sasuke would actually sell his kisses.

That wasn't the worst part of it. To Sasuke's great horror- and Naruto's amusement- Sasuke discovered his hidden fanboy club one afternoon. Naruto was rolling on the floor, doubled up in hysteric laughter- until the fanboys accused him of stealing their 'Sasuke-kun' all to himself. Naruto then stood up, socked the leader in the jaw, tore up the request form, and kicked them out of the clubroom, seething in indigent anger and outrage.

Sasuke was roused out of his musings when the front door slid open, and a girl entered without even knocking. Sasuke and Naruto turned around to look at her, one gaze suspicious, and the other questioning. It was already past five, almost coming to six, and to have a request coming in this late had never happened before.

"You guys are that anything-goes Anzumu club right?" The girl said, her voice holding a tinge of agitation in them. "If that's the case, then I have a request."

"It's _AnBu_." Naruto muttered sullenly. Sasuke didn't bother with correcting him. Almost all their clients had the name wrong.

He scrutinized the girl standing at the doorway. Her glossed lips were curled up into a tight frown, and her messy uniform was rumpled, the topmost buttons left undone. Her grayish black hair hung messily over her shoulders, bangs held back by a bandana, and her small narrow eyes were wide open and frantic.

"You're Ibara-san from our year- 2-G, right?" Naruto offered her a polite smile. "Well, actually we're kinda closing up for the day, so we might have to turn down your request-"

"Please, help me." She cut in, voice almost rising to a shrill. "My friend, Tomoe, her boyfriend played her out, and now she's in deep trouble with the loan sharks. They took her to the abandoned alleyway near the outskirts of town, and they're probably beating her up as we speak. I don't even know if she'll survive you don't go save her now-"

"How much are you offering to pay?" Naruto interrupted curiously from behind Sasuke.

"P-Pay?" Ibara repeated in surprise, as though the thought hadn't occurred to her. "But it's an emergency! How can you even ask this sort of things? You said you'll do anything, right?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sure, we do stuff people asks us to. But we don't do things for free, miss. The proper mission deserves the proper price. For this one, I'd say it'll cost you at least thirty thousand yen. It's reasonable enough."

"I don't have that much!" Ibara cried. Her eyes were starting to water, Sasuke noted to his dismay.

"Then we decline your offer." Naruto replied cheerfully. "If you think that Sasuke and I are going to risk our lives to save your friend for free, then you're sorely mistaken, miss."

"Sasuke-kun. You'll help me right?" Ibara turned to Sasuke, once Naruto turned her down. "You're kind, and understanding… You help Tomoe out, right?"

"Ibara-san. Tell me, why should we take on your ridiculous request?" Sasuke said impassively. "This Tomoe girl got what she deserved by hanging out with the wrong guys. We're not going to clean up the mess she made without gaining anything in return. We're not that generous. In fact, I don't think anybody in this world is."

"Sasuke-kun..." Ibara was crying and sniveling now. "I've always admired you. I thought, if it was Sasuke-kun, then maybe Tomoe stood a chance…."

"Shut up. Enough with the waterworks already. You make me sick." Sasuke snapped irritably. "I hate people who choose to rely on others first before their own selves. If you got nothing else to say, then please excuse yourself. We have other mission requests to tend to. And unlike yours, they've been _paid_ for."

"So now that you know we're not going to help you out, instead of wasting time here, why don't you go save your friend with your own two hands?" Naruto suggested, ushering her out of the clubroom. "You're in the softball team, right? You're athletic, so it wouldn't be too late for your friend if you start running now."

"But I can't save her! I don't have the strength! Isn't that why I came to you guys for help?" Ibara shouted.

"Don't be stupid. Everybody can do anything they want to if they put their minds to it." Naruto said. "This past week, Sasuke and I have seen various kinds of people. They have the option of actually doing the task, or being lazy and shoving their work to us. And we're not very popular because we don't charge cheap, you know. It's either you do the work, or you pay the proper price." Naruto smiled. "To put it simply, no pay, no deal."

"You guys are the ultimate jerks." Ibara said lowly. "I begged for your help, didn't I? I entrusted you with Tomoe-chan's safety, didn't I? So why aren't you even helping me out?"

Naruto sighed and ruffled up his hair. "That's pot calling the kettle black. You have the ability to save your friend, but you're giving up before you even tried, because you're afraid of hurting yourself. Truthfully, I think that you're the worst kind of person I've ever met. Someone who treasures their life more than their friends… Someone that gives up before even starting… you're not going to go very far with that attitude of yours. Well, I have nothing more to say, so… bye-bye."

Ibara turned and ran away, trying to stifle her sobs.

"That's harsh." Sasuke commented, as he stuck his head out to view Ibara's retreating figure.

"It was just a small push." Naruto grunted and started rummaging through the lockers. "I couldn't stand those kind of people anyway."

"A large shove, more like." Sasuke snorted. He eyed his friend's back. "So, after saying all that bullshit, what are you going to do, Naruto?"

"What do you think?" Naruto smirked and turned to face him, unfolding a piece of black heavy cloth. "Sasuke, a big challenge has just been dangled in front of us. What are _you_ going to do?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Sasuke smirked back. "Obviously, I'll fish it out."

* * *

She was frustrated. She was worried, frightened, and angry too. Worried, because her thoughts took a turn for the worse, when it came to what those bastards were doing to her best friend. Frightened, for whatever might happen next. To both herself and Tomoe. And she was angry. Because of what Sasuke-kun and that transfer student had said, and their unsympathetic rejection.

But above all, she was feeling extremely frustrated, not with the two Anzumu members, but with herself, because what that Uzumaki guy said rang true. She did pick fights with others before, and she did have a fit physique. But she had never fought with so many people before, much less experienced male thugs. She was scared of the pain she will probably be put through, so scared that she was readily handing over Tomoe's safety to strangers.

Tomoe, the friend that stuck with her since kindergarten. She had almost thrown her away to protect her selfish self. Ibara was thoroughly disgusted at what sort of girl she had became.

But it all didn't matter anymore, as she ran down the lifeless streets, heart thumping wildly, feet sprinting as fast as they could go. She would save Tomoe- even if it would cost her her very own life. Turning down into the last alley of the street, she could hear her friend's frantic cries for help. It was louder than the beating of her heart. Without even thinking, Ibara swiped a rock off the ground and flung it towards the nearest delinquent. It hit the guy's head with a solid thunk.

"Let Tomoe-chan go!" Ibara found herself shouting. "She's my best friend. You can't have her. I won't let you!"

"Ibara-chan!" Tomoe cried out in relief. The loan sharks stood up to face the new disturbance, readying their improvised weapons. As they spread out, Ibara could see the extent of her friend's injuries. Tomoe's uniform was ripped in places, and cuts and bruises lined her boby. Her brown hair was messed up, tangled, and uneven at the ends. Ibara could feel the rage bubbling up inside of her at painful state her precious friend was in.

"What the hell is up with this crazy girl?" The thug she had hit screamed. He turned around, picking up a metal pole as he did so, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. Ibara saw with some satisfaction that she had managed to draw blood. "Can I kill her?"

"Settle down. Listen up miss. This girl belongs to us now, until her good-for-nothing boyfriend pays up his debt. If you don't wanna get hurt real bad, I'll suggest that you leave this place quietly and immediately." One of them smirked down at her, fingering his knife.

"Not until you give Tomoe-chan back." Ibara said, bracing herself. "She has nothing to do with this anyway, so let her go."

"Tch. And we're just gettin' to the good part." Another one spoke up. "You ain't got no brains or somethin' missy? You know what's gonna happen to yerself if you keep interfering with our work, right?"

"I don't care what you're going to do with me, and I'm not going to let this go your way so easily either." Ibara found herself saying, much more calmly and composed then she was actually feeling inside. "I'm going to take Tomoe-chan, and we're going to leave this place together."

"You got spunk, girl. Let's just see how long it'll take for you to get down on your knees and beg us for mercy."

Before she knew it, they were all flying at her, weapons drawn out and ready, each sprinting to draw first blood. She held up her hands to block the incoming weapons, but she knew that it would be useless. She was weak, weaponless, and it was absolutely suicidal to go up against so many men at the same time. There was a rush of wind, and the sound of weapon hitting flesh, but Ibara never felt the blow hit.

"Twelve against one, and a girl no less. You should feel ashamed of yourselves."

Ibara turned to see a hooded figure step up beside her. He wore an oversized black hooded cloak, and had an equally black scarf wrapped tightly over the lower portion of his face, which had also muffled his voice, but it was still recognizable. "Sasuke…kun?"

Sasuke glanced at her briefly in confirmation, before turning his gaze back to the rest of the loan sharks. He casually rested a baseball bat over one shoulder, as he stood forward to shield her from the thugs. Ibara noted that he had probably used the bat to fend off all the simultaneous attacks a moment ago.

"What, it's just one more kid. There's no need to worry." The loan shark holding the knife grinned as he picked himself off the floor. "You caught us by surprise there, but don't think you'll have a second lucky chance. Not if you have to fight and protect the little missy over there at the same time."

"How about we raise the stakes to twelve against two?" Came another muffled voice from behind Ibara. Turning around, she saw a similarly dressed figured walking up towards her, or rather, Sasuke. It was without a guess, the Uzumaki. "If we win, you give that Tomoe girl back to us. If we lose, then we'll pay up her debt." The taunting smirk behind the scarf was practically visible for all who heard his voice. "Not a bad proposal, since you're at a disadvantage here."

"What do you mean, disadvantage? Adding one more measly trash to your team doesn't make you any better then you previously were." One ruffian snarled.

"This alley's a dead end." Sasuke replied coolly. "Meaning that we have you cornered. I would definitely consider that a great disadvantage, no?"

"Cocky little brat. The one at a major disadvantage is _you_!"The one holding the knife snarled, rushing in with his fellow gang members. "I don't care who you are, but if you think we'll let that little missy go so easily, you have another thing coming. She's worth at least a thirty million yen!"

"Pfft. That measly amount got you all so worked up?" Uzumaki chuckled. He raised his own baseball bat in preparation, as Sasuke mirrored his actions. "That's probably the reason why you'll remain a loan shark for life."

"Why you little…" The knifed thug roared.

"Step back and enjoy the show, Ibara-san." Uzumaki murmured to her softly. "The resolve you just showed us certainly deserved a little praise. As captain, I'll accept your mission."

Before Ibara could reply, Uzumaki was already sprinting to meet the thugs head-on, swinging his bat seemingly wildly around, but each swing had managed to hit its intended target, leaving the latter reeling backwards in pain from the sheer force from behind the hit. She as so focused on Uzumaki's careless grace, that she forgotten her own surroundings for a moment.

"What are you doing, you idiotic girl? Move!" Sasuke was suddenly shouting at her, and shoving her out of the way. In one swift and fluid movement, he blocked the pole aiming for her with his bat, and knocked the thug unconscious with a quick chop to the neck. Sasuke turned to face her, his hood having slipped off during the battle, and his scarf loosened to reveal a large, disgruntled frown. "If you're going to be a burden, then get the hell out of here. I can't be protecting you and fighting these guys at the same time." He glared.

"I'm not going to leave Tomoe-chan alone! Not after I've come this far!" Ibara yelled back, peeved.

Sasuke's glare intensified, and for a moment, Ibara thought that he was really going to knock her out together with the rest of the thugs he was fighting with, just so that he could get her out of the picture. But he finally turned away to face the rest of the thugs, with a muttered "Do as you wish," and headed forward to rejoin with Naruto, effortlessly knocking out any delinquent that came his way.

"Naruto. I'll handle things here. You go get Miss Thirty Million out." Sasuke said after he caught up with his friend. Two more thugs leapt his way, and he sent them flying backwards and crashing into the narrow brick walls without a second thought. He gripped his bat like one would grip a katana, slashing it with practiced precision and ease like it was a sword, clearing his way for his blond friend.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Naruto grinned back at him, hood and scarf also long fallen off during his fight, and dashed off, swiping more thugs along the way. Sasuke hissed in annoyance as the thugs got back up once more, and jumped towards him yet again. Emptily swinging them away wouldn't do them any good- Sasuke found out the hard way that these men were extremely resilient.

One of them broke the compact formation to come rushing at Sasuke, chopper clutched tightly in his sweaty palms, bringing it forwards in a diagonal wild slash. Sasuke in turn brought his baseball bat up for a successful block, sending the chopper sinking straight into the hollow aluminum of his weapon. Sasuke cussed, reacting quickly by swinging his bat outwards in a wide arc, chopper still indented in it, sending his attacker flying into a pile of garbage bins.

The good point was that the guy wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. The bad point was that Sasuke's bat was now bent in an odd angle, the upper part which had the chopper embedded in it was close to falling off, dangling loosely, held on by only a few slabs of thin metal. "Shit, I just broke school property." Sasuke swore foully.

"Heh, no so brave without your weapon anymore aren't you, kiddie?" The men surrounding him grinned toothily, almost swaggering now that they had the upper hand.

Sasuke glared in reply, and dropped the broken dented bat, letting it clatter onto the ground noisily. "I don't need it." He said, in answer to the questioning faces of the loan sharks. "If baseball bats aren't enough to knock you out, then I don't need them." Sasuke clarified, cracking his knuckles. "I think that these would do the job pretty sufficiently."

He proved the sneering faces wrong when his fist crashed painfully into them, knocking out three men in less than five seconds. "Well then, who's next?" Sasuke smirked.

The loan sharks then realized that fighting in a dead alleyway was a disadvantage for them after all.

* * *

"No funny business from you guys now. The police are on their way to pick you up." Naruto informed the captured and tied up loan sharks lazily as he dusted himself down. He then turned to face the ashen faced Tomoe, and her equally worried friend.

"I can't pay. I haven't got thirty thousand on me." Ibara said sullenly. "And neither does Tomoe, obviously."

"I know. That's why I'll give you a special price, just for today. After all, we managed to get a good fight out of it, and neither of us died or suffered severe injuries." Naruto swooped down with a mischievous grin. He held out one finger. "How does one thousand yen sound?"

"But that's…" Ibara started protesting, but gave up with a weak chuckle. She dug out her wallet and handed over the respective bills. "Thank you. Both you and Sasuke-kun, you have no reason to come today, and yet…"

"Of course, the discount meant that there will be no telling anyone about our involvement today, alright? Sasuke and I can't be afforded to be caught doing these sorts of things, you know." Naruto said seriously as he pocketed the money. "And we both can't afford to be performing heroic stunts every day either."

"Is that the reason for your cloaks?" Ibara asked, amused. "To hide your uniforms?"

"Well yeah, partly. And also because it looks cool." Naruto turned to his best friend, who was sulking by the corner and kicking the gravel under his feet as he waited for Naruto to finish up the conversation. "Doesn't it Sasuke? This brings back good memories, right?" He grinned, twirling around with the large cloak.

"Of what? The time you were trying to cosplay as Darth Vader when you were five?" Sasuke snorted. "Because you tripped over your cape, somehow managed to get it caught in the air conditioner, made your father steaming mad, and got you spanked. I wouldn't call that cool, and it certainly wasn't a fond memory."

"Sasuke, did I ever tell you that you suck?" Naruto smiled, rather forcefully. "'Cause you do. And I hate you."

"Whatever. The police are coming. We'd better go."Sasuke replied steadily. He peeled himself off the wall he was leaning on, and walked away, pausing to stop just as he was passing the two girls. He turned to glance at Ibara's questioning face. "Get your friend to the hospital after the police arrives. You wouldn't want her dying on you after you've reached this far, right?" The smile that flickered across his face was brief, but slow enough for her to catch. "And Miss Thirty Million… get yourself a better boyfriend next time. Naruto and I wouldn't want to be cleaning up your mess anytime soon. Let's go home, Naruto."

Naruto straightened up and followed his friend, a wide grin plastered across his face. "We'll be seeing you around, Ibara-san, Tomoe-san."

"Wait!"

Both black cloaked members turned around questioningly. The shout wasn't from either Ibara nor Tomoe- it was the gruff voice of one of the thugs they had caught and tied up. More specifically, the one that used the knife.

"Got a problem, old man?"Naruto asked blandly, raising an eyebrow in question. He smirked. "Sure, I'll do you the honor of answering your questions. Ask ahead."

"You… Why?" The loan shark asked. "You brats have so much power, so much strength, and you use it for this purpose? For one thousand yen? You should join us… you could earn so much more…!"

"Hmm… Maybe. But it's boring." Naruto replied easily. "Those sort of fights, those kind of money- it's too easy. It'll get boring after awhile. We don't want it, that dull lifestyle you're offering us. The ones like today's are much more enjoyable and challenging, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke inclined his head slightly. "Why do you even bother talking to those losers? Leave them to lead their own boring lives, and we'll lead our own. It doesn't concern us anyway."

"…Who are you? You're just a bunch of kids who don't know anything about how this world works! I can't believe we lost to you! Who the hell are you guys?"

Naruto gave a wry smirk in reply. "We're known as AnBu. You'd better remember it, old man."

* * *

Sasuke stifled a yawn as he headed for school two days later. His bag was loaded with third year workbooks that were due today, his usual earphones were discarded and hanging loosely over his shoulders, in favor of trying his best to sleepwalk to school. Nothing had changed much after their big mission to date, and yesterday had gone by as per usual.

It seemed as though the girls had kept their word and remained mum on his and Naruto's involvement. It had been a great relief on his part, as he would have definitely got into trouble if his parents found out. He ambled slowly through the halls, intending to get to the clubroom and relieve his bag of its heavy workload.

It was strange. For the past day, Sasuke had been replaying the entire fight in his mind. It was strange that he had managed to perform so well in his first street fight. He was cool and composed, and he knew how to handle himself throughout the entire brawl. He knew how to wield the baseball bat so fluidly as though it was an extension of his arms. As though he had been fighting and training with it for his entire life. Which he obviously didn't, considering that that bat had been mooched off the school's supply closet by Naruto.

Sasuke idly wondered if it had something to do with his labeled 'genius'. Maybe those sort of things come natural to people like him. A person that can pull off absolutely anything and everything, perfectly and effortlessly without even practicing. Sasuke shivered involuntarily. He didn't what to become that kind of person. It was unnatural. It was unjustifiable. And it certainly wasn't _human_.

"Naruto." Sasuke greeted as he entered the clubroom, heaving his bag onto the desk and started unloading it immediately, deftly replacing all his workbooks with textbooks. The AnBu clubroom and turned somewhat into a second home for both himself and Naruto, and they'd usually leave their school belongings here instead of bringing them home.

"Good morning, Sasuke!" Naruto greeted back cheerfully, though his eyes never left the monitor screen which they were practically glued onto. He was apparently hard at work, surfing on their high-end computer. "Leave those workbooks there, the seniors will be coming to pick them up soon, I think."

Sasuke glanced up from the pile of books he was straightening out. "What are you doing?"

"Upgrading our uniform." Naruto replied merrily. "The cloaks would weigh us down if they were drenched, and they aren't fireproofed. The hood has to be weighted at the ends; they slid off too easily the last time. And we need to get something much more suitable and breathable then those flimsy scarves."

"…You seriously want us to take up more of those dangerous, life-risking jobs? That one time wasn't enough for you?" Sasuke asked, twitching. "'Fireproofed'? You want me to run into burning houses?"

"If we have a request that pays well, why not?" Naruto shrugged. "Aw, come on, we earned enough profit for the past week, it's an upgrade for the sake of the club. An investment for our bright future ahead. It's not like we both really need the cash anyways. Hey, how about we get matching boots too? It'll be cool."

"Boots are heavy and bulky, and we won't be able to run fast with them." Sasuke pointed out. "I'll stick to my track shoes, thanks."

"But that's so unglam. Sneakers with cloak." Naruto whined. "Oh yeah, those girls dropped by earlier. One of them told me to pass this to you." Naruto swiveled around, waving an envelope in his hands.

Sasuke took it curiously, carefully extracting the thin sheet of paper from within. Girlishly neat handwriting stared back at him, as his eyes scanned though the paper rapidly, growing wider in disbelief as they reached the bottom of the page. "…You knew this would happen, didn't you." He stated blandly once he had finished reading, and re-reading it to check that his eyes weren't lying to him.

"Yeah, so what. Look, I have one too. From the other one." Naruto pointed at the garbage can beside the door. A bright pink and crumpled piece of paper stuck out from the top. Sasuke ripped his own to bits and allowed them to join Naruto's.

"She said that she liked me. She told me to meet her at the back of the school during lunch break. She's probably going to force a confession onto me." Sasuke said, incredulous. "She's a stupid wimp who has absolutely no taste in picking her friends and boyfriends; you'd think I'll go out with an idiot like her? That girl's only worth thirty million yen, and she thinks she's worthy of my attention? That she's worthy of eating up my precious lunch break? You've got to be kidding me."

"Ouch." Naruto said, already turning his attention back to his monitor screen. "But Sasuke dear, you only have yourself to blame since you did say those nice sounding words to her. It'll melt any girl's heat, trust me."

"What did I say?" Sasuke asked blankly. He had no recollection of saying anything remotely nice to anyone that day, Naruto included. In fact, Sasuke never did say anything he would consider nice to anyone at all. "I called her Thirty Million to her face, how does that show that I'm trying to hook her up?"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then turned away hurriedly to stifle his laughter, much to Sasuke's chagrin. "But it was worth it, wasn't it? That mission." Naruto smiled, after calming down his burst of laughter. "You looked like you enjoyed it."

Sasuke eyed Naruto. "It wasn't too bad." He said after a while. "I can't say I enjoyed it, but I've no regrets."

"That's good enough. We're going to be doing much more exciting stuff then this though, you just wait for it, Sasuke." Naruto grinned.

"Sure, I'll wait, Naruto." Sasuke said, his lips twitching into a small smirk. He was right. Sticking with Naruto had made his life much more interesting with each passing day. He wasn't going to regret it. After all, Naruto had made AnBu a club that he was proud to be in.

* * *

Oooh! I think that I have managed to cut down on my Japanese wishy-washy for this chapter! Banzai!

Vocabulary:  
_Shoshin_- First Trial  
_Yorozuya_- Jack-of-all-trades

Biggest apologies for the long update and the somewhat cheesy plotline. As per usual, tell me if you spot any mistakes, fact-wise or grammar-wise, and I'll clean it up asap.

Hoped I didn't disappoint.

Until next time,

TenkuuBatsu.


End file.
